LOCAL RULES

British Columbia annual corporate records requirements

Your British Columbia annual corporate records have 7 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • The annual report within 2 months after the anniversary
  • An annual general meeting, or a unanimous resolution in its place
  • The annual reference date chosen in the resolution
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Corporate Records Support keeps your company's records, works out its deadlines and gives you standard forms that you complete and sign. It is made mainly for law firms and is not legal advice; a lawyer can do the paperwork for you.

A company incorporated in British Columbia under the Business Corporations Act has yearly duties of its own: an annual general meeting or a unanimous resolution in its place, an annual reference date, financial statements or a waiver, an auditor or a waiver, a transparency register checked every year, and an annual report to the registrar. Here is each rule with a link to the official text.

Last reviewed October 24, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Annual corporate recordsBRITISH COLUMBIA / FREE CALCULATOR

Filing calendar for 2026

WhatWhenRule
Annual report to the Registrar of CompaniesMarch 4, 2026 to May 4, 2026Business Corporations Act s. 51
Transparency register checked for accuracyMarch 4, 2026 to May 4, 2026Business Corporations Act s. 119.3
Annual general meeting held, or all voting shareholders consent to its business or waive it by unanimous resolution, choosing the annual reference dateIn 2026, by September 30, 2026Business Corporations Act s. 182
Financial statements produced and published by the directors, unless all shareholders waive them by unanimous resolutionBy the annual reference dateBusiness Corporations Act s. 198, 200
Auditor appointed, unless all shareholders waive the appointment by unanimous resolution (one financial year at a time)For each financial yearBusiness Corporations Act s. 203

Dates count from the anniversary of the date the company was incorporated, amalgamated or continued. Check your articles and any shareholder agreement for other dates.

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What British Columbia requires

  • A BC company files an annual report with the registrar every year, within 2 months after each anniversary of the date it was recognized, with information current to that anniversaryBusiness Corporations Act s. 51
  • A company holds an annual general meeting at least once in each calendar year and not more than 15 months after the previous annual reference date, unless all the shareholders entitled to vote, by unanimous resolution, consent to all the business of that meeting or waive itBusiness Corporations Act s. 182 (1), (2) and (5)
  • A unanimous resolution that consents to or waives the annual general meeting must select the company's annual reference date, a date on which that meeting could properly have been heldBusiness Corporations Act s. 182 (3)
  • A unanimous resolution is one passed by being consented to in writing by all of the shareholders entitled to vote on it, and a consent resolution of shareholders is as valid as one passed at a meetingBusiness Corporations Act s. 1 (1), "unanimous resolution" · Business Corporations Act s. 180
  • The directors may pass a resolution without a meeting if each director entitled to vote on it consents to it in writing; it is then as valid as one passed at a meetingBusiness Corporations Act s. 140 (3)
  • The directors produce and publish financial statements for the latest completed financial year on or before each annual reference date, unless all of the shareholders, whether or not their shares vote, waive them by unanimous resolution (a waiver covers those statements only)Business Corporations Act s. 198 (2) · Business Corporations Act s. 200
  • A company must have an auditor unless all of the shareholders, whether or not their shares vote, waive the appointment by unanimous resolution; the waiver lasts for one financial year onlyBusiness Corporations Act s. 203
  • A private company keeps a transparency register of its significant individuals (name, date of birth, last known address, citizenship or residence, tax residence, when and how each is significant) and, every year within 2 months after the anniversary of its recognition, takes reasonable steps to confirm it is accurate, complete and up to dateBusiness Corporations Act s. 119.2 · Business Corporations Act s. 119.3
  • The records office keeps, among other records, the register of directors, each director's consent to act, the minutes of meetings, every consent resolution of the shareholders and of the directors, and the financial statementsBusiness Corporations Act s. 42 (1)
  • A company has at least one director (a public company at least 3), and a director's written consent to act keeps the appointment validBusiness Corporations Act s. 120 · Business Corporations Act s. 123

A unanimous resolution instead of the meeting

Most small BC companies do not hold a live annual general meeting. All of the shareholders entitled to vote can, by unanimous resolution, consent to all of the business of the meeting, and then the company does not have to hold it. A unanimous resolution means consented to in writing by every one of those shareholders, and it is as valid as a resolution passed at a meeting.

The resolution must also choose the company's annual reference date, a date on which the meeting could properly have been held. That date matters: the financial statements are due by it, and the next meeting must come within 15 months of it.

Financial statements and the auditor

The directors produce and publish financial statements for the latest completed financial year by each annual reference date. The shareholders can waive them, but only by unanimous resolution of all of them, including shareholders whose shares do not vote, and the waiver covers those statements only.

A company must have an auditor unless every shareholder, voting or not, waives the appointment by unanimous resolution. That waiver lasts for one financial year, so it is renewed each year.

The directors' resolutions

The directors can act without meeting: a resolution is passed when each director entitled to vote consents to it in writing. A company needs at least one director, and each director's written consent to act is kept in the records office along with every consent resolution of the shareholders and of the directors.

Annual report and transparency register

Every year, within 2 months after the anniversary of the date the company was recognized, it files its annual report with the registrar. In the same window, a private company takes reasonable steps to confirm that its transparency register of significant individuals is accurate, complete and up to date.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to choose the annual reference date in the unanimous resolution.
  • Having only the voting shareholders sign the auditor or financial statement waivers: every shareholder must sign them.
  • Treating last year's auditor waiver as still in force: it covers one financial year.
  • Filing the annual report without checking the transparency register in the same two months.

Sources

Last reviewed October 24, 2026. Next review due January 24, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.